Answered Prayer
by DemonUchiha17
Summary: The worst thing Sam thought he'd have to deal with was Dean slowly becoming consumed by the Mark of Cain. One day he finds that even the strongest hunter around can be taken down by something so common. Will Sam be able to help his brother or will this trail require celestial intervention?


Out of all the humans that have ever existed past and present no one found themselves drawn to trouble more so than Dean Winchester. The elder hunter had suffered in hell and upon his return he continued to fight the never ending battle against evil. While he won more times then not the constant battling took an emotional toll on the hunter. The situation now wasn't any different and Castiel felt completely powerless to do anything about Dean's suffering. The last time he had been face to face with the elder Winchester he had discovered his charge had acquired the worst curse imaginable; the Mark of Cain. Seeing that stain upon the form of the righteous man felt like getting stabbed repeatedly with angel weapons. Every time a new more powerful source of evil fell upon the Earth it was Dean who was prepared to make the great sacrifice to both Castiel and Sam's dismay. All Castiel could do at this point was pray that Dean's strong will would be enough to keep him from being changed irreversibly into something he wasn't by choice; a killer.

All Castiel could think about was the battles that rocked heaven. When Lucifer possessed the mark the second born slowly changed, making him more prone to fits of jealousy. Since he was the kind of being that never explored his emotions in a constructive manner it resulted in him lashing out. It was Michael's responsibility to reign his younger brother in and often times that created massive shock-waves throughout their home as the two colossal powers collided. As Sam was Castiel knew he couldn't bare to take all that on himself. He cursed himself for being so weak and blind to what Metatron was plotting. With his grace fading slowly everyday there was little Castiel could do to support Sam in his battle to save Dean. Before the angel could tailspin into another pity fest he heard the ringing of his phone. Castiel looked at the phone that he had placed down on the park bench beside him and looked nervous when it read, 'Incoming call: Sam.'

After learning that Dean had done the wreckless thing and taken the mark from Cain himself Castiel requested that Sam keep a close eye on his brother and inform him immediately if there were any serious changes to the elder hunter. His heart skipped a beat when he feared that this was one of those times and hesitated to answer the phone. Although he wished he could ignore it and make everything go away that wasn't how reality worked and he knew it. Castiel took a deep breath before reaching over and picked up the phone before calmly speaking into the receiver. "Sam."

Castiel could hear some sense of relief when Sam finally got through to the angel. The younger hunter didn't speak right away which made Castiel all the more nervous. Just as Castiel was about to ask if everything was alright he heard Sam painfully say, "Cas, I need you here. Please man... it's Dean."

The Winchester's guardian didn't need to hear anymore. Grace or not he was going to be there for the brothers because they were family. Family is always there to support one another regardless of the situation. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Castiel replied before hanging up the phone. A serious expression appeared on Castiel's features as he pulled himself from the park bench and walked with purpose toward his car and raced off toward the bunker.

Sam let out a small breath as he gazed into his brother's room and found Dean in the worst shape he had ever seen him in. He hated to see his brother in such a state for Dean was always the strong one. Nothing slowed him down, no monster or injury would keep him from doing what he did best. This, this was something far worse and Sam hated feeling so incapable of helping. He let out a small breath as he closed the door behind him and carefully walked out toward the library of the bunker to do some research.

Roughly an hour passed before Sam heard the metal door of the bunker open and found Castiel descending the staircase toward him. A rather worried expression appeared on his features when he found the young hunter sitting at his computer with a troubled expression on his features. Had things truly gotten this bad so fast? When the echo of Castiel's footsteps grew louder Sam let out a small breath before closing his laptop. "Thanks for coming Cas."

"Of course... Where's Dean?" If he had fallen so far he could only assume that Sam had to lock him away to prevent him from harming himself or others.

Before Sam could even get a word out Castiel and Sam both heard Dean shouting from his bedroom, "SAMMY!" A sigh escaped his throat as he pulled himself from the chair and lead their best friend down the hall to where his brother was.

As they approached the room Dean's companions cringed when they heard a loud coughing fit which was never a good sign. Castiel looked up at Sam who carefully opened the door to reveal the state the elder hunter was in. Even after the most intense fights the Winchesters had been through over their hunting lives nothing compared to what Castiel saw in that moment. Dean was sitting up in his bed, with pillows all around him. Almost all color seemed to be faded from his features aside from the outlines of red around his eyes and nose. The space around him looked as though a confetti gun went off. Tissues were scattered everywhere from the bed to the floor. Castiel hadn't seen anything like it and honestly his heart sunk when he practically saw Dean gasping for breath. A low groan escaped his throat when he looked up at Sam, holding up an empty box of tissues. "Sammy I'm all out... can you get me some more?"

Again Castiel glanced over at the younger Winchester for some answers before he made his way across the room to feel Dean's forehead. In addition to all the other signs he was experiencing his body was burning up. Did Dean's resistance to the mark's pull leave him in such a state? Sensing that Castiel was going to get all mother hen on him Dean swiped his hand away before grabbing a half used tissue to clear his nose again. The loud fog horn blow echoed through the room and a small smile appeared on Dean's face when he felt like he could breathe like a human again. "Cas, stop looking at me like that. It has nothing to do with the Mark, ok?"

Sam lightly rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand and glanced over at Castiel and then his brother. "Dean's a handful when he's sick and someone needs to go on a supply run."

Castiel completely understood where Sam was coming from. While angels never did get sick he related it to the manner in which everyone fled when Raphael came around to check on everyone's condition. They all could be as Sam put it, 'A handful.' "Go ahead Sam. I'll watch over Dean."

The look on the younger hunter's features was enough to show his gratitude for Castiel's help. Even though he was unable to mojo the cold away his company would at least make him feel better. Sam was just about to leave when he heard Dean say, "Don't forget the pie."

As sick as his brother was he still had his unshakable desire for the comfort food. He simply nodded before turning on his heel and walked out leaving Castiel with a sick Dean to watch over. Dean let out another groan before he laid back in bed and turned his attention back to the TV Sam had helped bring into his bedroom. The open credits for Dr. Sexy MD were rolling which caused Castiel to raise an eyebrow. "What are you watching?"

Dean slowly turned to Castiel and had one of those really looks on his features. "Dr. Sexy MD. It's pretty compelling, Cas."

Clearly the show was a guilty pleasure of the hunter. Knowing he couldn't do anything else for Dean he decided to pull up a chair and sit down by his side. He found himself watching along with his human surprisingly felling a little calm despite everything that was happening. Even though Dean was fighting the influence of the Mark he was still very much Dean. Despite all the romantic encounters that encompassed the show Castiel slowly started to see why Dean appreciated the story so much. In a way it mirrored his own experience. Everyday these people faced challenging situations and fought them with everything they had to save the day.

Dean knew it would be sometime before Sam came back with the ingredients for Mother Winchester's guaranteed cold cure-all so he looked over at Castiel. "Cas, I'm thirsty. Could you grab me some water?"

The angel looked over toward the table where Sam had left a pitcher within his brother's reach. Not surprisingly it was empty. Under normal circumstances they would have told Dean to get off his ass and get it himself but Castiel wanted to have Dean rest. He had done enough and deserved a day off. "Of course. Sit tight and I'll be back."

Carefully Castiel picked up the pitcher and made his way back downstairs to grab some filtered water which was better for the hunter's recovery. Needless to say the cold was starting to ware the hunter down and slowly he began to close his eyes to sleep off the bug. Forcing himself to stay awake was only hampering his internal defenses from doing their job. Dean couldn't have been asleep for more then five minutes when he was rudely awoken by a bright light being shined into his eyes. Dean groaned as he raised his arm to block out the light only to hear a familiar voice say, "Now now Deano you gotta let me take a good look at ya."

Shock overcame the elder hunter when he shot up from bed and to his disbelief he found Gabriel standing beside his bed dressed in doctor garb complete with a white jacket. "Great now I'm hallucinating. Must be sicker then I thought." Dean coughed a few more times and tried to turn away hoping the imagine would vanish if he ignored it.

"Ouch Deano that hurts my feelings... I come all this way to give you my help and you treat me like I'm not even here? That's low even for you." Gabriel whined before pulling the hunter's form back toward him.

Clearly the Archangel was very real and gave one of his signature eyebrow wiggles to prove it. Dean rolled his eyes as he looked over the Trickster. "Playing Doctor now?"

"Yeah well with Big Bro Raphy being dead and all guess I gotta take care of it. Now say ah for me." Gabriel ordered as he lifted up his light again to take a closer look at Dean's throat. Reluctantly Dean complied with Gabriel's request and opened up wide to allow the archangel to take a peek. He studied it for a moment before nodding and uh huhing. "Yep, definitely a cold. Didn't think idiots caught them but guess I was wrong."

Dean was growing slightly annoyed and reached over to grab his knife which he always kept in reach in case some monster tried to attack him in his sleep. "Gabriel I'm not in the mood for your jokes. Now leave before I gank your ass back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

Innocently Gabriel raised his hands in defense and backed away slowly. "Ok ok... geez no need to go all commando on me. Just trying to help.

"Then why don't you just mojo up a cure then." Dean grumbled feeling the stuffy feeling return to his nose.

Gabriel lightly rolled his eyes in reply. Sure Dean could be a major bag of dicks but the archangel couldn't help but like him and not because he was Sam's brother. Dean had been more of a brother to him then his own had been since all the in-fighting began. Reluctantly he snapped into being two blue pills and a small cup of water. Dean looked at him with a little bit of distrust but decided that Gabriel deserved some benefit of the doubt since he did stand up to Lucifer for them. "As they say, take two and call me in the morning." Carefully Dean took the medicine from Gabriel and threw them and the water back. Moments later Dean slowly closed his eyes again and drifted off to sleep. Gabriel gently pulled the blankets over him and smiled lightly before snapping off the tv.

Just then Castiel returned and was in shock when he found his big brother standing there. Gabriel rose his finger to his lips indicating that he had to keep his voice down. Dean had finally managed to get to sleep after dealing with the symptoms of the cold all night. The two angels walked away from the bedroom and Castiel's eyes were full of confusion. He had seen the video Gabriel left behind after he faced Lucifer. With his own eyes he had seen the charged marks of his wings against the hotel floor. "Gabriel, how?"

"Dunno. Guess dear old Dad decided to take a break from his vacation to bring me back. Rebuilding Archangels take time."

Without warning Castiel pulled his brother into a hug. After Metatron fooled him into believing Gabriel was alive the last time the younger angel felt a renewed desire to see his big brother again. The archangel wanted to complain but he simply broke a small smile and returned his brother's hug. Deep down he missed the days where they were able to simply be brothers and exist without worry. After the two allowed themselves to enjoy a moment of peace Gabriel pulled back and gave his brother a slightly annoyed glance. "Oh and another thing... keep your praying to a minimum please. When I got back I found my inbox filled with them."

While there was no denying that Castiel had spent a great deal more time praying then he did in the past he knew there was another who was bombarding his brother with prayers for help. "You mean because of Sam."

Gabriel couldn't help but laugh. Even though his baby brother was clueless about many things it appeared he was still able to read through all the false walls he put around himself. Not that Gabriel didn't want to hear from his favorite little brother but nothing made him happier then when Sam reached out to him. Instead of answering that Gabriel winked again and took off in a flash just as Sam was entering the bunker with several bags in his hands.

Sam was slightly surprised when he found Castiel standing in war room instead of siting by Dean's side. "Cas? Whatcha doing out here? Thought you were..."

Castiel lightly lifted up the pitcher of water to show it to Sam. The younger hunter lightly pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Of course he should have checked the water before he left. He couldn't be mad at Castiel for that and let out another breath as he sorted out the items he brought home from the store. All the ingredients for an old fashioned chicken soup were there along with some tissues and over the counter medicine. Although Castiel wasn't completely familiar with all human customs he did know those were the things needed for homemade remedies for illness. Considering that his elder brother was involved now Castiel couldn't help but think it didn't make sense for Sam to use them. "Sam I don't think that will be necessary."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Of course it's necessary. He's my brother Cas and its my turn to take care of him."

Castiel gestured for Sam to follow him and the two walked back to Dean's room. A relieved expression appeared on Sam's features when he found his brother sleeping peacefully for the first time in days. "Thank you Cas." Castiel wanted to tell Sam it wasn't anything he did but in the back of his mind he heard Gabriel hush him.

"Of course, Sam." The two quietly left behind the items they went to retrieve at the night stand and then slowly closed the door to let Dean rest in peace. What Mary Winchester always said was true. Angels were indeed looking after Dean whether he wanted them to or not.

 **The End...**

 **Hello again my fellow SPN fans! Inspiriation truly does come when you least suspect it. I've been feeling pretty miserable for the last few days dealing with my own cold. As I laid there in bed I couldn't help but wonder how would this play out with our favorite Winchesters. And tada another one-shot story is born. Hope you all enjoyed it. Leave behind some of your thoughts. They always brighten my spirits.**


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